The much-anticipated Chelsea-Johor Darul Ta’zim clash may have served up six goals at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Sunday (Aug 9) night, but there was little else to celebrate for supporters of the West London side as the Club World Cup holders were stunned by the hosts, held to a 3-3 draw in a bruising pre-season encounter in Malaysia.
Two Liam Delap penalties and a Cristian Glauder own goal spared Chelsea their blushes after Johor repeatedly exposed their defensive frailties in an uncharacteristically bruising encounter for a pre-season friendly.
The 28,000-strong crowd were also denied the chance to see some of Chelsea’s more recognisable faces, with Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro among the notable absentees. A large majority of the first-team squad were rested after featuring in a friendly against AC Milan in Indonesia just a day earlier.
The frustration deepened after the final whistle, with Chelsea’s players quickly departing for the airport while new head coach Xabi Alonso and his squad also skipped their scheduled media duties, bringing the club’s Asian pre-season tour to a rather abrupt end.
However, Johor’s Brazilian talisman Bergson was present at the post-match press conference where he hailed his side’s ability to force a draw against superior opposition.
“I feel very proud of the team because this is not about the result; it’s about character. We never get tired of surprising people with what we can do against big opponents here at home.
“This is more important. At the end of the day, people who remember this character, and what we show on the pitch.”
Johor head coach Xisco was also beaming about his side’s display against the Premier League giants.
“The players gave an amazing performance and showed the character and passion we want to see throughout the season. We are happy with the level we showed against Chelsea, but not with the result because we had chances to win the game.”
“These are the moments we need to learn from, and now our focus is on continuing to improve and preparing for the season ahead,” the Spaniard said.
For all its goals, the exceptionally physical match also produced an unusually high number of yellow cards (eight), with tempers flaring as crunching tackles punctuated the contest.
The hosts were largely responsible for the heavy challenges.
Johor drew first blood through homegrown winger Arif Aiman, who showed impeccable composure as he orchestrated the attack in the final third.
Chelsea forward Liam Delap then dispatched spot-kicks either side of half-time to put his side ahead for the first time, only for Oscar Arribas Pasero to restore parity three minutes later with a wicked deflected free-kick.
In the 86th minute, Bergson reclaimed the lead for Johor with a strike from the edge of the box, sending the boisterous home ultras, the Boys of Straits, into raptures.
On-field captain Dario Essugo could only crack a wry smile as they seemed headed for an embarrassing defeat against the Malaysian champions.
But Chelsea were able to salvage a draw as Delap’s wayward header bounced off Cristobal Marquez into the back of the net.
Essugo later reflected on his first pre-season tour with the club through a statement on the experience, saying: “This is my first tour and, for me, it has been a really nice experience. I’ve learnt a lot, especially having top players around me. We arrived in Johor late in the morning, and there were already many fans waiting for us. This is huge for us; we’re very happy, and of course, they deserve everything.”
After matches across Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia, the English side will now head straight back to Cobham to prepare for their final pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad, which will take place at Stamford Bridge.
